Keep Your Heartbeat Steady
by MaygenLynn
Summary: The Tri-Wizard Tournament is over, and Voldemort has returned. The Order of the Phoenix has been revived, and this year, the ministry is heavily interfering at Hogwarts. See how Tori and Gabe face their fifth year with O.W.Ls, strong romantic feelings, Dolores Umbridge, and the D.A, all while Tori faces her long awaited grief towards Cedric's untimely death. Part III of T&G Series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **And here's the first chapter of the third part in the Tori and Gabe series! We're on to Order of the Phoenix, which means the awful Dolores Umbridge! I don't have much to say for this author's note, except for, I know that this chapter is going to be a little boring but I promise, the next will be better. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**-KYHS-**

_ Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck_  
_ Some nights I call it a draw_  
_ Some nights I wish that my lips could build a castle_  
_ Some nights I wish they'd just fall off_

_ But I still wake up, I still see your ghost_  
_ Oh, Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for oh_  
_ Whoa oh oh (What do I stand for?)_  
_ Whoa oh oh (What do I stand for?)_  
_ Most nights I don't know anymore..._

_**Some Nights - FUN.**_

**-KYHS-**

_Harry,_

_So perhaps you were right about me taking weeks to respond, but you have to admit, I'm getting better! I've been talking to Padfoot and Uncle Remus a lot about you coming to stay with us, since I know you miss Padfoot, and Padfoot misses you and all that, and they've been really cryptic about their answers, but from what I inferred, you'll be away from those relatives of yours before summer's out! Good news, eh? I don't really have a lot of time to respond. Gabe's anxious to send off a letter to Ginny and he doesn't want Argon flying around all night… Or something like that. Who knows with him? Personally, I think he's just being selfish with his owl. _

_Anyway, hope that Uncle and Aunt of yours are treating you well. Well, as well as they feel inclined to, anyway. If not you can always use the convict godfather trick! That'll surely keep them in line. _

_Write back soon! And I'll try to respond within the week. Emphasis on 'try'. _

_Joking. I will. _

_-Tori_

Tori folds the letter and seals it before lazily rolling off of her bed and walking out of her room and across the hall to Gabe's room. She stops in front of the closed door before knocking repeatedly on it.

"Oh Gabriel," Tori sings while continuously knocking on the door. She frowns when he doesn't answer, and knocks harder on the door. "Open up, brother!" she calls, and sighs when she still gets no answer. Eventually she stops knocking and kneels down on the floor and begins trying to shove the letter to Harry under Gabe's door.

"Victoria, what are you doing?" Remus' voice calls from the end of the short hallway, and Tori freezes before looking up at him sheepishly.

"Well… Dearest twin won't open his bloody bedroom door," Tori says, looking away from Remus and scowling at the door. "And I need to borrow Argon."

"Why don't you just go in?" Remus questions with a raised eyebrow and Tori looks at him incredulously.

"Uncle Remus… He could be naked," Tori states as if it's obvious, and Remus' lips twitch slightly, showing Tori that he's obviously fighting an amused smile.

"Astounding logic, but you don't have to worry about that, darling, he went to the Weasley's just a little while ago," Remus says, and Tori's jaw drops.

"Without me?!" she asks loudly, before turning sharply and shoving Gabe's bedroom door open. She enters the bedroom, grumbling under her breath as she moves to the cage containing Gabe's owl. She pulls the cage door open and sticks her arm inside, and the brown and white barn owl clings onto her arm. "Okay, I need you to be nicer than your owner, and take this to Harry, alright?" Tori asks, holding up the letter, and Argon takes it in his beak before flying out the open window. Afterwards, Tori marches into the living room where she sees her dad sitting on the couch with the Daily Prophet in his hands. She walks over to one of the armchairs in the room and grips the back of it before beginning to push it over to the door.

"I'm almost reluctant to ask… But I have to. What are you doing?" Sirius asks, lifting an eyebrow at his daughter as he watches her struggle to push the large chair to the front door.

"That treacherous brother of mine," she starts before letting out a grunt of exertion as she pushes the heavy chair, "went to the Weasley's without even a word to me. And that," grunt, "is unacceptable. So, I decided that I'm going to sit here and wait for him to get back, right in front of the door so that my angry face is the first thing he sees when he walks in the door."

"Having trouble?" Sirius asks after a few moments of watching his daughter valiantly try to push the heavy chair to the door.

"Me? Not at all!" Tori denies, vehemently, before taking a pause, and leaning on the chair, breathing heavily. "Merlin why do we have this thing?" she whispers, apparently loud enough for Sirius to hear, due to the bark of laughter that erupts from him, which reminds Tori heavily of her own laugh. She pushes the chair a little farther before quitting, and walking to the door. She walks outside, shutting the door behind her, before walking back in, and looking at the position of the chair. She scowls slightly when she sees that the position of the chair isn't to her liking, and she walks back in the house, moving back behind the chair. She places her hands on the back of the chair, once again, and this time, when she goes to push the chair moves much easier than last time. She keeps her eyes firmly locked on the open front door as she pushes, and when the chair is in the perfect place, she drops her hands with a triumphant look. Tori holds the smug, triumphant look as she turns around to gloat to her father, but her face falls when she sees him standing next to her with a similar smug look on his face.

Sirius witnesses the change in his daughter's face, and it takes everything in him not to burst out laughing. How he'd managed to help her move the chair without her noticing, he'll never know.

Tori sees that her dad is trying hard not to laugh, and she scowls at him.

"I could have done that myself," Tori says, and Sirius scoffs.

"You're welcome," he remarks, sarcastically.

"I never said 'thank you'," Tori says, walking around the chair and standing in the open doorway, checking the position of the chair, and nodding slightly when she finds that it would be the first thing Gabe sees when he walks inside.

"You just did," Sirius points out, walking back to the couch and watching his daughter work with interest. Tori sends her dad a playful stink eye before shutting the front door and sitting down in the chair, practicing an angry look.

"Should I give him this look," Tori starts, turning in her chair to face her father with a hard scowl, "or this look," she finishes, pulling her face into a cool gaze. Sirius tilts his head slightly, actually thinking it over.

"Go with the latter. The indifferent look is much more frightening," he says, and Tori nods before turning back around, and finding an intimidating position to sit in. She sits with her head held high, back straight, one leg crossed over the other, elbows propped up on the arm rests, and her fingertips touching each other while her expression is pulled into the indifferent look. She turns her head around slightly when she hears Remus enter the room, and he sends her a curious look when he sees one of the armchairs pushed over to the front door.

"Why?" he questions simply, and she opens her mouth to respond, but Sirius beats her to it.

"She wants her angry face to be the first thing that, and I quote, 'that treacherous brother of hers', to see when he walks through the door," Sirius says, and Tori gives Remus a firm nod before turning back around in her seat, her eyes firmly planted on the door. After a few minutes, Tori slumps in her seat and sighs.

"This is boring," she whines, standing up. She looks sharply at the door when she hears the knob turn, and she quickly sits back down in the chair. She races to shift into her intimidating position, and fixes her face into the indifferent look that she practiced. She narrows her eyes when her twin walks through the door, and his eyes settle on her.

"What?" he asks, defensively, and her eyes narrow farther.

"So, where were you?" she asks, and Gabe simply stares at her with an incredulous look on his face.

"At… The Weasley's," he says, glancing behind Tori at Remus and Sirius who are watching with amused faces.

"And you went without me," Tori says, and Gabe rolls his eyes at Tori's dramatics.

"I didn't realize I needed to extend an invitation for you to walk down the road," Gabe says before brushing past Tori to go to his bedroom, and Tori frowns at his attitude.

"What's the matter with you?" Tori asks, walking after her brother.

"Nothing," he mutters before going into his bedroom, and shutting the door behind him.

"Well, fine! I didn't want to know anyway!" Tori shouts before stomping away from his door childishly.

Gabe rolls his eyes and sighs before flopping down on his bed. He lies back and places his hands behind his head. He didn't mean to be so rude to Tori, but Gabe currently has a lot on his mind. Mostly school and very conflicting thoughts about Ginny Weasley. On one hand, he really fancies Ginny. He finds her smart, witty, clever, absolutely beautiful, and just an all around great person to be around. He knows that she returns his feelings whole heartedly, and that makes him positively elated. On the other hand, he feels as if he shouldn't have those feelings about Ginny, considering he's known her since she was just a child, and he feels as if he should see her as a sister, and not a love interest. He lets out a frustrated groan, and drags his hands down his face before glancing at his desk, finding Argon's cage empty, and his bedroom window wide open. He frowns before realizing that Tori must have sent off a letter to somebody, and he rises from his bed. He walks over to the window and shuts it with a little more force than necessary. Gabe jumps slightly when there's a series of loud, repetitive knocks on his bedroom door.

"I can't take the suspense anymore!" Tori cries dramatically while knocking on the door, making Gabe shut his eyes and shake his head while fighting an amused grin. He walks over to the door and opens it while Tori is mid-knock. "There's something wrong. I can feel it. What's wrong? Please tell me!"

"Would you relax?" Gabe asks, pulling Tori into his room and shutting the door. Tori glances at the door and looks at Gabe curiously. Gabe maintains eye contact with his twin before letting out a large sigh, and flopping back down on his bed, laying down and covering his face with one of his pillows. Tori hops up on Gabe's desk, and simply stares at him questioningly. Soon enough, Gabe lifts the pillow from his face and meets Tori's gaze before letting out another sigh. "I'm conflicted," he says, simply, and Tori lifts an eyebrow.

"About?" she asks, and Gabe hesitates.

"Ginny," he says, and Tori grins devilishly at him. "You see? That's why I didn't want to tell you!" he exclaims, pointing at her, and the grin is immediately wiped from her face.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Tori genuinely apologizes, taking Gabe by surprise. "What about her?"

"I… Fancy her," Gabe says, and Tori stares blankly at him.

"And?" Tori asks, not seeing the problem.

"_And_? And I shouldn't fancy her!" Gabe exclaims, looking at his sister as if she's stupid.

"Why not?" Tori asks, frowning.

"Because… Because it's Ginny! I've known her since she was a child!" Gabe says, and Tori scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"When she was a child, so were we!" Tori says. "And besides, she's not a child anymore. She's only a year below us."

"You don't understand-," Gabe starts.

"No, I don't. The two of you fancy each other, but you're too busy being ridiculous to do anything about it. I know that she makes you happy, so why does anything else matter?" Tori asks, rising to her feet and moving toward his bedroom door, throwing a pointed look at him before wrenching the door open. She snorts in amusement when she sees their father standing on the other side of the door, obviously listening in to what they were talking about, and Gabe flushes in embarrassment. "Maybe you can talk some sense into this idiot," Tori mutters before walking around Sirius and down the hallway.

Minutes later, Tori sits on the couch, reading and scoffing at the issue of the Daily Prophet that her father was previously reading when there's a knock at the door. Tori straightens up significantly, and watches as Remus exits the kitchen, where he was busy making dinner, and walks to the front door, drawing his wand. He throws a pointed glance at Tori and she rises from where she was sitting, and moves to the hallway. She peeks around the corner and her eyebrows raise when Remus opens the front door, revealing Professor Dumbledore on the other side, clad in blue robes, and his hands clasped in front of him.

"Albus," Remus greets.

"Good evening, Remus," Dumbledore responds, pleasantly. Remus moves to the side, gesturing for Dumbledore to enter the house, and Remus shuts the door behind him. Tori steps out from behind the wall, and Dumbledore regards her with a kind smile.

"Ah, Miss Black, how are you this evening?" Dumbledore asks, curiously.

"Very well, sir," Tori says, politely.

"Victoria why don't you go ask your father to join Albus and I in the kitchen. You and Gabriel-," Remus starts.

"Stay out, yeah, got it," Tori mumbles before exiting the room, and walking down the hallway, and knocking on Gabe's door. Moments later, Gabe opens the door, and Tori immediately sees their father leaning against the wall next to the door. "Professor Dumbledore's here. He and Uncle Remus want you to join them in the kitchen," she says, and Sirius nods before exiting Gabe's bedroom, patting Gabe on the shoulder and Tori on the head on his way out. The hat Tori wears shifts slightly on her head, and she straightens it out before narrowing her eyes at her father's retreating form. "And we're supposed to stay out," she says to Gabe.

"Obviously," he mutters, clearly unhappy about this, just as Tori is. "We're not really going to, are we?"

"Of course not, give it a few moments," Tori says, leaning against the doorframe, and smirking at her twin. After about a minute, Tori and Gabe exit his bedroom and walk down the hallway, eventually arriving at the closed kitchen door, and both of them press their ears against the dark wood.

"-big enough. It's the least I could do," they hear their father say.

"I really appreciate this, Sirius," Dumbledore responds, and the twins look at each other with identical frowns on their faces.

"The full moon is next week. We'll leave before then," Remus interjects, and the twins' frowns deepen. They then hear Dumbledore telling Remus and Sirius that he has to leave, and Tori and Gabe quickly rush away from the door, each of them entering Gabe's bedroom, and Tori slams the door shut behind them. She turns to look at Gabe, and she frowns when he stares at her with wide, incredulous eyes.

"What?" she asks, and Gabe lets out an exasperated noise while his hands fly to his hair.

"Did you _have _to slam the door?!" he whisper-shouts. "They'll know we were listening now, stupid!"

"Bloody hell," Tori mutters, seeing the error in her plan. "I didn't even think of that."

"Of course you didn't," Gabe grumbles, lying back on his bed, and shutting his eyes. Tori walks over to the window and opens it when Argon arrives, and he flies in before landing on the headboard of Gabe's bed. The twins quickly look at the door when Remus opens it, and Gabe sits up on the bed while Tori fully faces the door.

"Yes?" they ask at the same time, and Remus gives them a knowing smile.

"How much did you hear?" he asks, and the twins both give him their best innocent look. "I see right through those looks, but no matter. Come," he says, gesturing for the twins to follow him. Tori and Gabe glance at each other before following Remus. When they enter the living room, they see Sirius sitting in one of the armchairs, and Remus gestures for the twins to sit on the couch.

"You know, this is usually what happens right before Tori gets a lecture," Gabe announces, followed by a slap to the back of the head by Tori. The then thinks it over a bit before looking between Sirius and Remus.

"This… Isn't a lecture though, right? Because I haven't done anything to deserve one in a couple of days," Tori says, frowning.

"No, this isn't a lecture," Remus says. "There is something we need to discuss though."

"You know, I'll bet it has something to do with why Dumbledore was here," Tori mutters to Gabe sarcastically, making him roll his eyes and shove her playfully. She narrows her eyes and shoves him back. "What is it?"

"We're moving," Sirius says, bluntly, making the twins look at him, curiously.

"Moving?" Gabe asks.

"Where?" Tori adds on to Gabe's question.

"To the house I grew up in," he says, and the twins frown in confusion.

"Why are we going there?" Gabe asks, remembering how Sirius said that he didn't have a great childhood, due to his family.

"Because it's been made into headquarters for the Order," Remus says, and the twins both look at him with raised eyebrows. "The Weasley's will be relocating there as well, along with Harry who will join us towards the end of the summer."

"Can Hermione come, too?" Tori asks excitedly.

"Merlin Tori, it's not a hotel," Gabe mutters, rolling his eyes at his sister, but Tori merely ignores him.

"If she wants to, and her parents allow her to, then of course she can," Remus says, and Tori nods happily. "The four of us and the Weasley's will be moving in on Monday, so I would suggest that you begin packing tonight, tomorrow at the latest," he says, looking pointedly at Tori, seeing as how she has a knack for procrastinating.

"Fine, fine," Tori says, leaning back on the couch.

"Alright, you should go and write to Hermione now to get word to her as soon as possible," Remus says, and Tori looks at Gabe questioningly.

"Go ahead," Gabe sighs, giving Tori the go ahead to use his owl.

"Thanks, twin," Tori chirps before quickly rising from her seat and going to her bedroom.

_Hermione,_

_We received a visit from Professor Dumbledore today, and he, Uncle Remus, and Padfoot all had a secret meeting. And you'll be pleased to know that I didn't start listening in until the very end. Anyway, afterwards Gabe and I were informed that we're moving to the new headquarters for the 'you-know-what'. The Weasley's will be moving in also, and apparently Harry will as well at the end of the summer. So, I asked, and you've been invited as well! That is, if you want to, and your mum and dad say it's alright. _

_Send word back as soon as possible. I'll tell Argon to wait for your response. _

Tori looks at the door when Gabe opens it with Argon resting on his arm.

"Put in that letter for Hermione to give him some water when he arrives," he says, and Tori nods before going back to writing.

_If you could give Argon a little water, that would be great. Gabe's request. _

_-Tori_

**-KYHS-**

**A/N: **And there's the first chapter! I know it maybe a little boring, but I had to set the scene, and I didn't want it to run on too long. The next chapter will be much better!

**A Polyvore collection has already been started for this story! The link is now on my profile! Go check it out! **

**Questions?**

**Comments?  
Suggestions?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**Review Replies:**

**RHatch89****: **Don't worry, I fully plan on expanding on the relationships you listed. I was gonna hold off until the next story, but I can't wait anymore, and I had the feeling that you and the other readers couldn't either. Thank you so much for being the first reviewer for this story! I really appreciate it! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**grapejuice101****: **Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lucy Greenhill****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**potterhead8989****: **Don't worry; I have plans for that already! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Aleksi black:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Kayla: **Oh man! I don't wanna have to face death! So, here's your update! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**usuihentai727****: **I fully intend on writing each of the things you asked! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**WriteToEscapeReality1309****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**-KYHS-**

_It's not a matter for the courts  
A given right that's not in doubt  
Joanna says "Just open up... You never know what could become."_

_But I've been feeling sleepy-eyed_  
_And with an ever-growing smile_

_And on and on she starts to roll_  
_And waves her arms out ever wide_  
_Wilder plans begin to sprout_  
_As deeper still the frowns bite_

_Come here and take a breath_  
_Come and rest your pretty head_

_A selfish one I must admit_  
_But it's a city state of mind_  
_The only way for number one_  
_With blinkers on at shoulder height_

_Because it saves a lot of heart_  
_From getting lost out in the dark_

_**Joanna – Deaf Joe**_

**-KYHS-**

_Tori,_

_My parents said that they're alright with me spending the rest of the summer with you. They only ask that you wait until Wednesday before you come to get me. _

_I'll see you soon!_

_-Hermione_

Tori reads the short response over as she packs up some of her belongings. She grunts as she throws a couple of things into her trunk, wishing that Remus would have just given into hers and Gabe's requests to just pack their things with magic. Remus did, however, place an undetectable extension charm on both of their trunks so they could fit all of their belongings inside.

"Oi, Tori!" she hears her name being whisper-shouted outside her window, and she turns sharply and finds Ron standing outside. She frowns before cocking an eyebrow.

"Why are you at my window?" Tori whispers back and Ron scratches the back of his neck before shrugging and climbing inside her bedroom. "You could have just went through the front door."

"Did you her we're all staying somewhere else this summer?" he whispers, and Tori nods.

"Yeah, I'm packing now," Tori whispers back, before shaking her head quickly. "Why the bloody hell are we whispering?" she asks loudly, making Ron jump.

"Dunno. It sounded like a good idea at the time," Ron says, taking a seat on Tori's bed. She watches him for a few moments before rolling her eyes and throwing a few more things into her trunk.

"Did you pack already?" Tori asks, looking around her room. Ron nods, giving Tori a look as if the answer should be obvious. "Right, dumb question. Make yourself useful and throw the things from that shelf in my trunk," Tori says, and Ron grumbles under his breath but does as Tori tells him. "Hermione will be joining us, as well," Tori says, and Ron's head snaps in her direction.

"Really?" he asks, and Tori nods before picking up the letter Hermione sent.

"Yeah, Uncle Remus and I will be getting her on Wednesday," Tori says, before scratching her head a bit. "I should probably go let him know about that," she says, and Ron snorts, amused at his friend's talent for procrastination. "Alright, I think that's everything I'm going to bring," Tori mutters to herself as she tosses one last thing into her trunk. She shuts her trunk, before latching it and sitting on top of it.

"Have you been writing to Harry?" Ron asks, and Tori nods.

"I wrote to him yesterday," Tori says before stretching.

"Can't imagine he's having the best summer," Ron says, and Tori frowns.

"He's with those awful relatives of his. Of course he's not having a good summer," Tori says.

"I just mean after what happened last year, what with You-Know-Who coming back, and Cedric-," Ron cuts himself off, looking at Tori warily. He blinks as she simply stares at him blankly before rolling her eyes.

"Dying. Yes, I know," Tori says, wishing everybody would stop walking on eggshells around her over the subject of her ex-boyfriend.

"Right," Ron says, knowing better than to push anything with Tori. He watches as Tori becomes lost in thought for a few moments before blinking, pulling herself out of it quickly. She gives Ron a small grin before looking around her bedroom.

"I should go let Uncle Remus know Hermione's answer," Tori says, and Ron nods.

"I better get back home anyway, dinner's soon," Ron says, and Tori chuckles slightly.

"See you tomorrow," Tori says.

"See you," Ron says, and Tori rolls her eyes as he leaves through the window.

**-KYHS-**

The next day when Tori, Gabe, Remus, and Sirius in his dog form, reach where they'll be staying this summer, Remus conjures up a slip of paper and a quill, and proceeds to scribble something on it before passing it to Gabe.

"Read it silently to yourself, then pass it to your sister," Remus says. "Then you do the same Victoria. Read it silently."

"Alright, alright," Tori says, rolling her eyes slightly at Remus' warning. She takes the slip of paper from Gabe when he hands it to her, and lets her eyes scan it quickly.

'Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.'

She lifts her eyebrows slightly before placing it into Remus' outstretched hand. Remus quickly burns the slip of paper before looking at his godchildren.

"Now, concentrate on the address you just read," Remus says, and Tori and Gabe glance at each other before doing as their told. Tori and Gabe both wear nearly identical surprised looks as buildings 11 and 13 slowly begin to part, revealing a new building with the number 12 on it. The twins follow Sirius and Remus as they lead the way to the house, and Remus pushes the door open when they reach it. The four of them walk into the dark, narrow hallway, and Tori immediately scrunches up her nose.

"It smells funny in here," Tori says, and Gabe snorts from beside her.

"It's the lingering smell of evil that used to reside here," Sirius says when he morphs back to his human form. "Now, the two of you don't touch anything in this house before Remus and I check for cursed items. From what I remember, dear old mum and dad had a fair few of them."

Sirius and Remus lead the twins to the sitting room, telling them to wait there while they look through the house. The twins leave their belongings by the doorway before they begin to look around the dimly lighted room. Tori regards a few items on a dusty shelf before letting out a despondent sigh.

"How much do you want to bet that Mrs. Weasley will be having us cleaning before the week is out?" Tori asks, and Gabe looks at her sharply before a glum look crosses his face.

"You're right," Gabe groans, partially dreading the days to come. Nearly an hour passes before Sirius and Remus finish with the kitchen and two bedrooms. Remus decides to continue checking rooms, leaving Sirius to show the twins where they'll be sleeping. He leads them up a surprisingly wide staircase, and Gabe looks along the wall where there are several house elf heads mounted on the wall, with a thoroughly disgusted look on his face, while Tori eyes it with distaste. When they arrive on the second floor, Sirius pushes open a door and looks at Tori.

"Okay Victoria, this is where you'll be staying. You'll be rooming with Ginny and Hermione as well," he says, and Tori nods before walking into the bedroom and dropping her trunk onto the floor, almost carelessly making Sirius snort slightly. She turns around and takes her cat carrier from her father who picked it up when he elected to show them their rooms. She opens the small cage door, and her white cat Blossom leaps out onto the floor before sniffing around, exploring. Her father informs her that he and Gabe will be one floor up while Sirius shows Gabe his room, and Tori nods slightly, showing him that she heard him. Sirius gives her a small smile before pulling the door shut behind him, and Tori sits down on one of the beds with a sigh.

She reaches out and grabs one of the handles of her trunk, which had been enchanted to be feather light, and pulls it to her. She opens the trunk and riffles through it for a few seconds before pulling out a handful of things; a medium sized blank book, a few muggle drawing tools that she found at Ted and Andie's house, and her old stuffed black dog that she'd had since she was an infant. She and Gabe have identical stuffed dogs, which they would repeatedly argue over, seeing as they always got them mixed up. The only thing that is different about the two dogs is that Tori's has a small hole in the front left leg.

Tori sighs before leaning back on the bed against the headboard and pulls the stuffed dog onto her lap. She smiles slightly at Blossom when she jumps onto the bed, and reaches out to pet her soft head. After a few moments, she stops petting the cat's head and picks up one of the dark charcoal pencils, and opens the book to a blank page. She glances at Blossom, who is lying on the bed, watching her calmly, and Tori looks thoughtful for a few moments as she stares at the cat. She looks back at the blank page before placing the tip of the pencil on the page and beginning to draw, occasionally glancing between the page and the cat.

Tori becomes so caught up in her work that she barely notices when Ginny is shown the room that she'll be sharing with Tori by Remus. Ginny and Remus both stand in the doorway, surprised at what Tori's doing. Ginny walks over to Tori and peeks at the drawing and lifts her eyebrows at how good the thinks it is.

"Tori?" Ginny asks, and Tori raises her eyebrows, acknowledging that she heard the redhead.

"What do you think so far?" Tori asks while continuing to sketch.

"It's fantastic. I didn't know you could draw," Ginny says, and Tori nods distractedly.

"I haven't in ages. I used to all the time as a child. I sort of stopped after mum died, but I guess it stuck with me," Tori says, while putting the finishing touches on the drawing. As soon as she finishes the drawing she flips the book around, holding the finished piece of work for Blossom to see. "Well?" Tori asks the sleeping cat, and Blossom lifts her head, and blinks at Tori before lying her head back down and going back to sleep. Tori tosses the book onto the lid of her trunk, and looks at Ginny who picked the bed closest to the door.

"Ron told me that Hermione's going to be here too," Ginny says, and Tori nods.

"Uncle Remus and I are going to get her tomorrow," Tori says, and Ginny nods before lying back on her bed.

"So, are you doing okay?" Ginny asks, and Tori stiffens and frowns before looking at Ginny.

"How do you mean?" Tori asks, and Ginny gives her a knowing look.

"I mean since Cedric's death," Ginny says, bluntly, and Tori's frown disappears, her face going blank.

"Fine," she says, casually, while gripping her stuffed dog tightly.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asks, looking at her with a look of what Tori can only describe as disbelief.

"Of course," Tori says before rising from the bed and moving towards the door. "I'm going to go find Ron," she says, giving a look to Ginny, which tells the younger girl that she doesn't want to be followed. "I'll send Gabe down, if you want."

"Yeah," Ginny says, looking at Tori sadly. Ginny watches as Tori exits the room, shutting the door behind her, and she sighs. Despite Tori's best efforts to hide it, Ginny can clearly spot the pain in her eyes. She knows for a fact that even though its been months since Cedric's death, Tori hasn't even begun to mourn him, and she goes out of her way to attempt to prove to people that nothing is wrong. Ginny looks over to the door when it slowly opens, and she smiles slightly when she sees Gabe in the doorway.

"Everything alright?" Gabe asks, moving to enter the room, and Ginny lets out a small sigh.

"I brought up Cedric to Tori," Ginny says after a few moments of silence, before smiling at Blossom who jumps up onto her bed from Tori's. Gabe sits down on Tori's bed, and picks up the stuffed dog that was sitting next to the pillows, and he looks it over before putting it back.

"Tori's always been like that. It took her a while to mourn our mum's death, too, but not nearly this long," Gabe says with a sigh. "I know that she's hurting over this, we can all see it… She just won't let herself grieve because that means letting herself feel all of the pain that comes with accepting his death. Tori really cared about Cedric, and that's why it's so hard for her to actually fully accept that he's gone. I haven't been pestering her about it, because I thought that it would be easier for her to come to terms with all of it on her own but… Now I'm not so sure."

"Do Sirius and Remus know?" Ginny asks, and Gabe nods.

"They've each had a go with her about it, but Tori's the master of denial," Gabe says, and Ginny snorts.

"Something the two of you have in common," Ginny mutters under her breath, and Gabe frowns at her. She looks at Gabe, slightly bitter over the fact that he's practically forcing himself to see her as a sister instead of acting on his feelings like she wishes he would.

"What?" he asks, not fully hearing her, and Ginny shakes her head.

"Nothing," she says, shaking her head before standing up. "Let's go have a look around this place," Ginny says with a grin, and Gabe returns the smile before standing as well, and he exits the room behind her.

Later that evening after the slightly tension between Ginny and Tori had diffused, she and Tori lounge in the sitting room, having a casual conversation, while Fred and George sit on the other side of the room with their heads together, obviously planning something, when the front door to the house opens and a group of people walk past the sitting room, and deeper into the house. Tori leaps out of her seat when she spots a familiar head of pink hair.

"Dora?" she asks, and the woman in question turns and grins at her cousin.

"I was hoping I'd see you before the meeting, Vicky!" she exclaims, and smirks at the look of distaste that Tori sends her.

"You can leave now, Nymphadora," Tori mumbles, and she looks sharply at the twins when they let out identical indignant exclamations of 'Oi!'

"Why whenever we call you 'Vicky'," Fred starts.

"We're abused, while when she does, you do nothing?!" George finishes, and Tori rolls her eyes while Tonks grins.

"Because my little cousin knows that I'd hang her from a tree by her ankles if she dare try to do something about it," Tonks says, throwing an arm around Tori's shoulders.

"Oh, not to worry, Paddy, I'd never let that happen to you," Sirius says, snatching Tori from under Tonks' arm. Tori smirks at Tonks before sticking her tongue out at her, childishly, and Tonks reciprocates the gesture immediately. Everybody's attention turns to the doorway when the front door opens and closes again, and Tori's eyes practically bug out of her head when she sees Snape stalking past the sitting room.

"What the bloody hell is he doing here?" Tori asks, louder than she intended, catching Snape's attention. Tori looks up at her father who is wearing an identical look of severe disgust.

"How very eloquent of you, Black. You learned your manners from your father, I presume?" Snape asks with a sneer.

"You're one to talk about eloquence, Snivellus," Sirius bites out, and Tonks, who obviously dislikes the potion's professor, rolls her eyes at the men's age old feud, while Tori, Fred, George, and Ginny all look like Christmas had come early this year. Snape sends the father and daughter duo a hostile glare before stalking away. As soon as he's out of sight, Tori lets out a loud snort of laughter which triggers the other three teens to let out laughs of their own.

"Oh Merlin," Fred crows.

"That name is golden," George adds, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Do we have your permission to use it?" Fred asks, eagerly, and Sirius' eyes light up.

"Permission? I encourage it!" Sirius exclaims, and the twins beam at Sirius. The front door opens and closes yet again, and everyone straightens up when Dumbledore appears in the doorway.

"Good evening, everyone," he says pleasantly. "Sirius, Tonks, if you'll accompany me to the kitchen, we'll get this meeting started," Dumbledore says with a serene smile. Sirius and Tonks give the teenagers a small grin before following after Dumbledore. Tori, Ginny, and the twins all look at each other before nodding simultaneously.

"We'll get Gabe and Ron," Fred and George say at the same time before apparating away. Ginny and Tori both rush toward the kitchen, where they find the door closed. In seconds, Fred and George appear a safe distance away from the kitchen door with Gabe and Ron, and the four of them all join Tori and Ginny at the kitchen door. From where they stand, they can barely hear anything other than indistinguishable words, so they all lean forward and press their ears against the door. Even with their ears pressed against the door they only catch a few select words ranging from 'Fudge' to 'Voldemort' to 'Harry'. Suddenly, everything grows quiet, and all of the teens look at each other.

Before any of them can register what's going on the door is suddenly swung open and each of the teens topple forward, Tori, Ginny, and Ron all almost falling forward, but Gabe, Fred, and George all catch them before they hit the floor. The teens all look around the kitchen, the looks on the adults faces ranging from amusement to annoyance. Tori looks around before knocking on the sturdy wooden doorframe, and nodding with false approval.

"This one's good, you lot," Tori calls out, waving her hand around slightly. The rest of the teenagers all mutter noises and words of approval, before slowly turning around and walking away, back to the sitting room, where they proceed to think of plans on how to spy on the next meeting.

**-KYHS-**

The next morning, Tori sits at the kitchen table with her father, Remus, and the Weasleys, eating breakfast, and she practically bounces with excitement seeing as today is the day that Hermione joins them.

"What's the matter with you?" Ron asks from next to her, and Tori sends him a withering look.

"One of our best friends is arriving today. Could you act a little more excited?" Tori asks, and Ron shrugs. She waves him off and turns her attention back to her breakfast that Mrs. Weasley made. Soon enough, everybody finishes eating, and Remus announces that he and Tori are going to go retrieve Hermione, and Tori, upon hearing this practically jumps out of her chair and races to the front door. Everybody looks at the doorway of the kitchen, and Remus shakes his head slightly in amusement before looking at Sirius.

"The two of you couldn't be anymore alike if you tried," Remus says, and Sirius smiles proudly, before sending a mock glare to Gabe who makes a passing joking comment about how the both of them should be put on medication to calm them down. Remus casually rises from his seat and exits the kitchen. He walks up the stairs leading to the main floor of the house and soon arrives at the front door where Tori is impatiently waiting for him. He gestures for her to exit the house, and she pulls the front door open before walking outside and standing on the stone steps that lead to the house. Remus pulls the door shut behind him and holds out his arm for Tori to take, and as soon as she grips his arm, he apparates them away.

The pair appear in an alley in the neighborhood that Hermione lives in, and they walk up the street to the beautiful two story cottage that Hermione calls home. They walk to the front door, and Remus rings the doorbell. Moments later, the door is opened by Hermione's father, who gives the two a smile.

"Well, hello Victoria. Remus, it's good to see you again," Mr. Granger says with a smile before inviting the two of them inside.

"It's good to see you again, too Harold," Remus says, pleasantly to Mr. Granger.

"You'll find Hermione up in her bedroom, Victoria. I know that you know the way," Mr. Granger says, seeing the way that the teen was looking around, somewhat impatiently.

"Thanks, Mr. Granger," Tori chirps before making her way through the living room and up the staircase to the second floor, and she quickly finds Hermione's bedroom. "Oh, Hermione," Tori sings while she knocks on the door. The door is quickly wrenched open, and Hermione stands on the other side with a wide smile. Hermione quickly engulfs her best girlfriend in a hug, and Tori laughs slightly before returning the embrace. "So are you all ready?" Tori asks when Hermione lets her go, and she looks around the room. Her eyes widen when she spies Hermione's open trunk, and she sends the girl a sly grin. "Hermione, are you not even packed yet?"

"Of course I am," Hermione says, giving Tori a look of offense. "I'm just double checking everything. So, how's your summer been so far?"

"Great! Dad's been trying to teach Gabe and me how to become animagi," Tori says with a grin, and Hermione looks at her with wide eyes.

"Have you been able to do it yet?" Hermione asks with uncharacteristic excitement and Tori eyes her for a few moments before shaking her head glumly.

"No. He says we're making progress though!" she says with a wide smile, and Hermione looks at her warily.

"You'll register with the Ministry when you accomplish it though, right?" Hermione asks, and Tori doesn't miss the way Hermione says 'when' and not 'if.' This makes the shorter girl smile.

"Do you think I'm mad? Of course not!" Tori says, and Hermione looks at her with disapproval. Tori waves her off before spotting Crookshanks on Hermione's bed, and she meanders towards him. She strokes the cat's head fondly when she reaches him, and she watches as Hermione shuts her trunk, and grabs Crookshanks' cat carrier. She opens up the cage door and Crookshanks immediately trudges inside. Hermione shuts and locks the cage door before placing it on top of her trunk. Tori saunters over to one side of Hermione's trunk and grabs one of the handles while Hermione grabs the other and they work together to bring the trunk downstairs and into the sitting room where Remus, and Mr. and Mrs. Granger all sit, talking.

"Ah, hello Victoria. It's so good to see you again," Mrs. Granger says, standing and walking to the girl, wrapping her up in a kind hug. Tori smiles and returns the hug without hesitation.

"It's good to see you again, too, Mrs. Granger," Tori says, politely. As Hermione and her parents say their goodbyes, Tori lifts Crookshanks' cat carrier off of Hermione's trunk while Remus shrinks it so that it would be easier to carry when they apparate. After a few moments of Hermione and her parents talking, Hermione is ready to leave. After telling Mr. and Mrs. Granger goodbye, Remus, Tori, and Hermione all exit the house and make their way down the street to the apparating point, where they'll take Hermione back to where she'll be staying for the rest of the summer.

**-KYHS-**

**A/N: **So, maybe I accidentally lied. This chapter wasn't anymore exciting than the last. But I'm trying to get all of the boring stuff out of the way so that we can get to Harry's arrival sooner. I'm gonna try to get that in the next chapter… Actually, you know, that probably will be in the next chapter. I hope you liked this one!

**New outfits on Polyvore! Link on profile!**

**Questions?**

**Comments?**

**Suggestions?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**Review Replies:**

**RHatch89****: **Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**grapejuice101****: **Oh, I know! I can't wait to write Harry/Tori moments, especially since I plan to expand on their relationship during this story! Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**usuihentai727****: **She sure will! Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lucy Greenhill****:** Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**EmeraldStorm7****:** Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Guest:** Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**-KYHS-**

_After the silence, after the last words.  
Caught in the silence. _

_Caught in between.  
After the madness. _

_After the slow shock.  
Before the wave hits, the flood comes rushing in._

_This is the bad before the worse._  
_This is the storm before the storm_

_I haven't even hit the bottom of this ocean floor.  
This is the bend before the break.  
This is the mercy not the grace.  
This is the proof and not the faith I try to find.  
There shouldn't be a good in goodbye._

_I know this is gonna get better  
I know this is gonna get better  
I know._

_This is the bitter not the sweet._  
_This is the take and not the keep._  
_And I haven't even reached the bottom of this ocean floor._

_This is the bend before the break._  
_This is the mercy not the grace._  
_This is the proof and_

_not the faith I try to find.  
There shouldn't be a good in goodbye.  
There shouldn't be good in goodbye._

_**Shouldn't Be A Good In Goodbye – Jason Walker**_

**-KYHS-**

Weeks pass since Hermione joined everybody at Grimmauld Place, and since then, she'd been lightly talking to Tori about her feelings on Cedric's death. Because of this, Tori's moods begin to darken, and the front she'd been putting up for so long begins to inevitably crack. Through these weeks at Grimmauld Place, Tori has been in a slightly depressed mood, snapping unnecessarily at people, and isolating herself from everybody else to avoid the subject of Cedric. She'd been most actively avoiding Hermione, Ginny, and Gabe, since they're the most likely to bring up Tori's feelings.

Her time spent in willing isolation, she spends drawing in her sketch book. She finds that this relaxes her, and takes her mind off of everything for a while. Most of her time not spent sketching, is spent with her father who has been teaching her how to become an animagus. Gabe used to attend these lessons as well, and it wasn't a surprise to anybody when he was able to turn into a magnificent, small red fox after a little more a month. Sirius was overjoyed that Gabe got it so quickly, and Tori, who was proud of her brother, became even more determined. Despite her emotional turmoil, Tori had been making progress with her animagus lessons. On one particularly good day, Tori had concentrated hard enough that she actually began to transform, and her hands turned into two white and tan paws. Unfortunately for her, her hands were stuck as paws for almost the entire day, much to the amusement of almost everybody in the house.

Another chunk of Tori's time is spent sending Harry letters about what's happening in the house. She writes them in code in case Argon is intercepted, and in secret since she'd been told not to tell him anything. Tori vehemently disagreed with this, as did Gabe, Sirius, Ron, and Hermione when Dumbledore informed them of this, but eventually everybody verbally agreed except for Tori who just gave a short nod before excusing herself, and spending the rest of the night in the room that she shares with Ginny and Hermione, thinking of ways that she can give Harry information. Eventually, she decided on sending him the coded letters, not giving him much information, but hopefully enough to get him through until he arrives at Grimmauld Place.

Currently, Tori finds herself in the room that she shares with Hermione and Ginny on her bed with Blossom, rapidly sketching in her sketch book. Her hair is thrown up in a loose messy bun which moves around on her head every time her head makes the slightest movement. Tori looks up from her sketch book when the door slowly creaks open, and the small, aged house-elf Kreacher peeks inside the room. Tori cracks an amused grin, and Kreacher glowers at her.

"Blood-traitor brat… Spawn of my mistress's greatest shame…," Kreacher mutters, and Tori merely shakes her head. She'd become used to Kreacher's name calling, and mad mutterings. She recalls a particularly dramatic day when Kreacher stole Gabe's ring with the family crest on it, and Sirius took it back before getting rid of the crest on the stone, much to Gabe's approval, and Kreacher threw himself on the floor, sobbing heavily, while calling Sirius names that Tori had never heard before. He wasn't seen for at least two days after that.

"Need something, Kreacher?" Tori asks, pleasantly, with a grin.

"Nothing, Miss. Kreacher is merely cleaning. Kreacher lives to serve the house of Black," Kreacher says, pushing the door open wider.

"This room doesn't need to be cleaned. Go," Tori says, firmly, not particularly willing to allow Kreacher to look through hers, Ginny's, and Hermione's belongings. Kreacher sends Tori a mutinous glare before disappearing with a small pop. Tori rises from the bed and kicks the door to shut it, but the door is caught before it closed fully by Hermione. Tori feels a small bit of apprehension, when Hermione walks into the room, but it disappears when Hermione sends her a small smile, but doesn't say anything. "Sorry about that. Kreacher decided to pay me a small visit."

"I hope you weren't mean to him," Hermione says, sending Tori a look. Tori merely raises her hands in a surrendering motion while shaking her head.

"I'm not usually mean to Kreacher, you know that," Tori says.

"Alright… Well, Mrs. Weasley says dinner is almost ready," Hermione says, and Tori nods.

"Let's go then," Tori says, gesturing to the door. In minutes, Tori, and Hermione arrive in the basement kitchen, and Tori takes a seat at the end of the table, close to where Sirius sits at the head of the table, while Gabe sits across from her. Hermione takes a seat next to Tori, and immediately engages her in a conversation about their upcoming O. that she had been stressing about all summer. Eventually, Molly serves dinner, and everybody begins eating, while having their own conversations. Soon, Tori catches a hushed conversation between Tonks and Ginny who are sitting a little ways down the table, and she glances sharply at them when she hears Cedric's name. This directs her thoughts to places that she really doesn't want them to go, and her knee begins to bounce when her nerves begin to rise.

Hermione obviously senses her friend's distress and sends her a few concerned glances, as does Gabe and Sirius. Tori keeps her eyes glued to her plate, and she clenches her jaw tightly as she hears Cedric's name mentioned a few more times. Sirius sighs before clearing his throat loudly, giving Tonks a pointed look. Tonks immediately silences before looking at Tori, and soon many eyes are on Tori. This makes Tori grip her fork tightly in annoyance. This annoyance, paired with the steady way Hermione had been breaking down her emotional walls, causes Tori to drop her fork and push her chair back loudly and leave the table.

Tori quickly exits the kitchen and ascends the stairs to the second floor. She enters the bedroom she shares with Ginny and Hermione and goes inside before shutting the door tightly behind her. She takes a few deep, calming breaths while gripping her hair which is still in a loose bun on top of her head. She grinds her teeth while pulling her hair loose from the bun, and she feels it fall down to just below her shoulder blades. She paces the length of the room a few times before sitting down on the bed and quickly seizing her sketch pad.

She presses the tip of the drawing pencil to the paper and begins adding onto the detailed forest scene that she began before dinner. As she sketches, her mind is racing with conflicting emotional thoughts, which makes her grip on the pencil increase steadily, and she presses the tip of the pencil to the page harder and harder until it inevitably breaks. Tori lets out a growl of frustration before tossing the pencil across the room, and flinging the sketch book in the opposite direction.

She scoots back on the bed, only stopping when her back is pressed against the headboard, and she draws her knees up to her chest. She wraps her arms around her knees before resting her head on top of them, her face becoming hidden by her long, dark hair. She begins to take long, shuddering breaths, attempting to calm herself, but she can feel her composure slowly but steadily fading away. She can feel the makings of the emotional break down that she had been putting off for so long creeping up on her. She tries with all her might to push it back down, but the lump that grows in her throat is so large that it's almost painful.

Tori clenches her eyes shut tightly when the door to the bedroom opens, and shuts. She hears somebody sigh, and the sigh is distinctly male, so she knows that there's only a few options on who it can be. Only her father, her brother, or Remus would be the only three brave enough to face Tori at this time.

"Victoria?" she hears the voice ask gently. Sirius. She feels the bed dip beside her, signifying that he's taken a seat beside her. "Darling, are you alright?" he asks, placing a kind hand on her back.

'Lie,' is the first thought that springs to Tori's mind. 'Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie.'

Eventually, after a few moments of tense silence, Tori shakes her head, answering her father's question, finally being honest about her feelings.

"No… No, I didn't think so," Sirius says, looking at his daughter's small form sympathetically. "You haven't been all summer, I expect, am I right?" Sirius asks, and he sighs when he sees Tori barely nods her head, keeping her face hidden. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with what you're feeling, Victoria. I know that you know that."

"I don't want to feel this way," Tori whispers, squeezing her eyes shut tighter when they fill with tears, still keeping her face hidden in her knees.

"I know you don't, love. And I know just how painful this is, but I promise you that it _will _get better. And… Well, this is very hypocritical of me because I'm just as stubborn as you are when it comes to matters like this…," Sirius trails off, and Tori finally looks up at him, her brown eyes still filled with unshed tears, "but the only way you'll ever get past this is to let yourself feel the pain that comes with his death," he says, and Tori lets out a shaky sigh. She attempts to swallow the lump in her throat, trying as hard as she can to keep putting off her inevitable emotional breakdown, but try as she might, nothing she does can seem to prolong this unavoidable event.

Tori eyes the understanding, and caring expression on her father's face, and suddenly, she feels… Safe… Comforted. The months of pain and sadness that she spent months bottling up, and pushing deep down inside her all begins to steadily bubble up to the surface, and judging by the way that Sirius pulls her closer to him, the emotions are displaying perfectly on her face.

"It hurts, dad," Tori says, trying her best to blink back her tears. Unfortunately for Tori, her rapid blinking has the opposite effect; instead of the tears disappearing, one traitorous tear spills over, and just like that, her composure breaks completely. Sirius sees this and pulls Tori even closer to him so that she's practically on his lap. Tori allows him to do so, admitting to herself that she needs this, she needs to be comforted.

She needs her dad.

One by one, the pained tears fall down her cheeks as she finally allows herself to cry, finally grieving Cedric's death like she should have done long ago. A choked sob escapes from her throat against her will, and her hands immediately latch onto her father's arm as she rests her head on his chest.

Sirius wraps his arms around his daughter tightly and kisses the top of her head before resting his cheek on it. He slowly rubs soothing circles on her back as he subtly rocks her back and forth while he listens to her cry into his chest. Tori's cries break Sirius' heart. He wishes wholeheartedly that he could take this pain away from her and cast it onto himself, and it tears him up inside that there's nothing that he can do for his daughter but hold her.

Almost 45 minutes later, Tori finally grows quiet, and Sirius looks down at her and he smiles lightly when he sees her asleep against his chest. His smile falters slightly when he takes in her red, tear-stained, puffy face, and he moves her as gently as he can and lays her down on the bed. He rests her head on the pillows and covers her up with the duvet before standing up, and leaving the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

**-KYHS-**

The next morning, Tori wakes up feeling lighter than she had in months and this newfound lightness has her smiling slightly as she climbs out of bed. She stretches her arms above her head before walking to her trunk and grabbing a change of clothes. She quickly changes her clothes before looking at the beds on either side of her, and she only finds Ginny asleep in one of them while Hermione isn't in the room. Tori slips on a pair of shoes before quietly exiting the room. She quietly walks down the hallway, and on her way to the stairs she glances into the small library that resides in the house, and she's unsurprised to see Hermione in there, sitting on one of the chairs with a book in her hands and a mug of steaming liquid on the small table beside her.

"Morning," Tori calls out, smirking when Hermione jumps and looks at her sharply.

"Oh, Tori, good morning," Hermione says, and Tori nearly sags with relief when her tone is normal, showing her that Hermione is none the wiser about her breakdown the previous night. "How are you feeling? I meant to ask last night, but you were asleep when I came upstairs."

"Better. A lot better actually. I talked to dad and… It helped," Tori says, plopping down on the chair across from Hermione. Hermione smiles when she hears this and nods.

"I'm glad. You look happier," Hermione says, and Tori grins.

"I always look happy," Tori says, and Hermione rolls her eyes. "What are you working on?" she asks, eyeing the parchment and quill sitting next to the mug on the small table.

"Transfiguration essay," Hermione says before giving Tori a stern look. "Have you done yours yet?"

"No," Tori says, honestly, and Hermione's look grows sterner making Tori pout. "I have the rest of the month to do it. Why are you only doing yours now? I would have thought you'd have all of your homework done by now."

"I have a schedule worked out. This is the last piece of homework I have. How much of your work have you done?" Hermione asks, picking up her quill again.

"Charms," Tori says, and Hermione gives her a look that clearly shows exasperation. "I'll get it done," Tori laughs. "I always do."

"And how you manage to do so, I'll never know," Hermione says. "Go get your transfiguration text book, I'll help you with it," she says, and Tori's eyes light up, seeing as how Hermione usually leaves Tori and the boys to fend for themselves when it comes to summer homework.

"Hermione, you're the best. Really," Tori says, and pulls her 'puppy dog' face. "Will you help me with Potions too?"

"Yes," Hermione says, fighting a smile and Tori jumps to her feet, beaming at her best friend.

"Oh, 'Mione, what would I ever do without you?" Tori asks as she saunters out of the room.

"Fail, most likely. Just like Harry and Ron would," Hermione calls after her and Tori merely grins at her. When she returns with her textbooks and parchment, she and Hermione sit together on the black leather couch which sits in the very center of the room. The two friends work in complete silence, other than Tori asking Hermione a few questions regarding the work, and Hermione easily answering them. When Hermione finishes her essay, she remains seated next to Tori as she gives her advice and helps her with her Potions essay. When Tori finally finishes Potions, and begins Transfiguration, Hermione is slightly surprised, but smiles when Tori barely asks anything, and finishes the essay in record time. "That was quick."

"Transfiguration is my third best class," Tori says, and Hermione gives her an odd look.

"Then why do you always copy Gabe's work?" Hermione asks, and Tori shrugs.

"Because I'm lazy," she says, and Hermione snorts with disbelief but smiles all the same. The two girls look up when Mrs. Weasley appears in the doorway, and gives them both a smile.

"Oh, good, you two are already awake. Breakfast is almost ready, so Hermione if you could go wake Gabe and Ron, and Tori if you could go wake Fred and George," Mrs. Weasley says, and Tori nods.

"I'm on it," Tori says, dutifully exiting the room and walking up the stairs with Hermione trailing behind her. Upon reaching the third floor, Hermione enters the first bedroom while Tori has to walk all the way to the end of the corridor. When she reaches the room that the twins share, she presses her ear to the door, and when she hears nothing, she quietly pushes the door open. When she opens the door, however, she's met with the sight of Fred putting something into his mouth, while George stands next to him with a clipboard in one hand, and quill in the other. "So, what's going on in here?"

"Ah, good morning, Vicky," George says, cheerfully, and Tori merely rolls her eyes, grudgingly admitting to herself that she'll never be able to stop the twins from using this God-awful nickname.

"Come in, and close the door behind you," Fred says, looking as if he's waiting for something to happen. Tori frowns before doing as he says, and walking into the room and shutting the door tightly behind her.

"Your mum says breakfast is almost ready," Tori says, leaning against the door.

"Perfect timing, too. This'll have to be our last test for the morning," George says, looking at Fred expectantly. Fred nods in agreement, while Tori's frown deepens in confusion.

"Test? Test for what?" Tori asks, and George gives her a mischievous grin.

"Oh, I expect you'll be finding out-," George starts but is cut off when Fred's eyes roll back in his head and he collapses onto the floor, "now. This batch didn't seem to take as long to take effect as the last ones. Excellent."

A wave of realization washes over Tori as she recalls the twins' idea for prank items.

"Added another to the Skiving Snackboxes then?" Tori asks, beaming at George, who grins back.

"That we did," George responds, placing something purple into Fred's mouth, and George and Tori watch in silence, waiting for Fred to wake up. It takes minutes, but eventually Fred's eyes flutter open and he slowly sits up, rubbing the back of his head while groaning. "How're you feeling, Freddie?"

"Small headache, but nothing unmanageable," Fred says, letting Tori and George pull him to his feet.

"Work on this all later. Your mum will have my head if we aren't down for breakfast soon," Tori says before making to leave the room, unaware of the look that Fred and George share behind her back. She lets out a small squeal of surprise when both of her arms are grasped, and she's apparate into the kitchen, making several people jump at the loud crack in surprise. "Oh, how handy!" Tori says, happily. "Thank you very much, kind sirs."

"Why it was our pleasure, Vicky," George says.

"Always happy help a lovely lady in need, Vicky," Fred says, and he and George both bow at the waist, ignoring the glower that Tori sends at them when they both use her detested nickname. She turns away from them and sits in her usual spot by her father at the table. Breakfast, as always, is uneventful, and after breakfast, Sirius takes Tori to the study on the second floor, which is where her animagus lessons are always held. Sirius doesn't mention anything of last night, much to Tori's relief, and instead he makes her focus solely on transforming. Time ticks by slowly, and whenever her impatience and discouragement shows on her face, Sirius gently reminds her that it took him and James years to become animagi, and that's because they didn't have anybody helping them like she does.

"It's a wonder that Gabe grasped it so quickly," Sirius says, and Tori snorts.

"No it isn't," Tori laughs. "Anything remotely academic, Gabe picks up without an issue."

"Your mother was the same way," Sirius says, and the mood in the room changes drastically, as Sirius' face grows solemn. Eventually, the lingering silence is broken when Sirius clears his throat and excuses himself before leaving the room hurriedly, and in that moment, Tori sees where she gets her reluctance to share her sad feelings from.

The entire rest of the day is uneventful, spent casually lounging around the house after being worked hard by Mrs. Weasley. The entire afternoon Tori spends helping the other teens in the house clean, just as they'd been doing almost everyday this summer. That evening, Tori, Ginny, Gabe, the twins, Ron, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione all settle in the sitting room, the twins going over something on a piece of parchment, Hermione conversing with Gabe and Ginny, and Ron and Tori sitting across from each other, playing a game of wizard's chess, while Remus and Sirius watch.

"Queen to H3," Tori says, looking at Ron smugly. Ron studies the board for a few moments, before smirking at Tori.

"Queen to F2," Ron says. "Checkmate," he says, and Tori growls with frustration before flipping the board over.

"You're cheating!" she shouts as the chess pieces fly everywhere around the room, which makes Sirius hoot with laughter.

"How can I be cheating?" Ron asks, grinning, and Tori sputters for a few moments, not finding an answer, before glowering at him and stalking away and plopping down next to Hermione, looking around at Hermione, Gabe, and Ginny, her blazing eyes daring them to say something to her.

"Oh, Tori-," Gabe starts, bravely grinning at his sister.

"Shut up!" she barks, glaring at him, making him laugh. Soon though, the happy, playful atmosphere diminishes when Mr. Weasley suddenly floos in with a panicked look on his face, quickly calling Mrs. Weasley into the sitting room.

"Harry's been expelled from Hogwarts," he says, as calm as he can. Mr. Weasley isn't surprised when several occupants in the room let out shouts of disbelief, and everybody begins questioning him at once. Tori and Ron share a panicked look with Hermione after their own enraged shouts cease. Mr. Weasley holds up a hand and almost immediately everybody quiets down, eager for information. "He cast a Patronus charm and we all know that Harry wouldn't do this without reason-," Mr. Weasley starts.

"Hang on, where was Dung during all of this?" Sirius asks, his face contorted with anger.

"No idea," Mr. Weasley says, and the uproar of anger from everybody in the room is nearly deafening. "The rest of the Order will be arriving shortly, and Dumbledore is sorting everything out at the Ministry," Mr. Weasley says, and as soon as he finishes his sentence, the front door is flung open, and a group of Order members flock into the house. Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Remus immediately join them as they go into the kitchen, but Sirius remains in his seat. He quickly conjures up a piece of parchment and a quill with ink.

"Son, I need to borrow your owl," Sirius says, and Gabe nods quickly before hopping up from his seat and racing upstairs. Everybody in the room watches as Sirius quickly scribbles something on the parchment, and by the time he finishes, Gabe is bounding back down the stairs, with an irritated looking Argon on his arm. Sirius quickly ties the parchment to Argon's leg, and Gabe takes him to one of the only windows in the house. Sirius takes off afterwards and joins everybody in the kitchen, while all the teens remain in the sitting room.

"Expelled. This is a travesty!" Tori says, her anger still stewing within her.

"I can't believe Mundungus wasn't around," Hermione says, her tone matching Tori's. Tori lets out a sharp disbelieving laugh.

"Can't you? Because to me, it's honestly not that hard to wrap my mind around," Tori says, angrily. It's no secret that Tori isn't Mundungus Fletcher's number one fan; that her feelings of dislike for the man could rival Mrs. Weasley's, and this monumental slip up on Dung's part, only fueled Tori's intense dislike of him.

"A Patronus… What were Dementors doing in a muggle neighborhood?" Ron asks.

"What were they doing away from Azkaban, more like," Gabe says, taking his previous seat next to Ginny.

"You-Know-Who, obviously," Ginny says, looking around at everybody.

"Why would Voldemort-," Tori starts, rolling her eyes at how everybody except for Gabe flinches at the name, "send Dementors after Harry? I mean… He wants Harry dead, not… Soulless."

"Maybe he thinks it'd be easier to kill Harry without a soul," Fred suggests, and Tori frowns, something about this entire situation not feeling right to her. Later on, Argon returns, and not too long after, Hedwig arrives, gracefully landing on the arm of the couch next to Tori. Tori glances around the room at everybody before untying the notes from her leg. Hedwig carried four notes, addressed to herself, Ron, Hermione, and Sirius. She hands over Ron and Hermione's letters while placing Sirius' on the table. She unrolls Harry's note to her, and frowns as she reads it.

'_I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here.'_

"Well, they'd have to get him soon, right?" Hermione asks, and Tori nods in agreement. Soon, all of the Order members who showed up earlier begin filing out of the house, one by one, and Sirius rejoins the teens in the sitting room. His eyes immediately travel to Hedwig and Tori picks up his note before handing it to him.

"We all got one," Tori says as Sirius reads his note.

"As much as I know you want to, don't send anything back. Some of the Order members are going to get him in a few days," Sirius says, reluctantly.

"Well, there's that at least," George mutters.

"You don't think he'll actually be expelled, do you?" Ginny asks, and Sirius looks at the faces of the teens that are all looking at him expectantly. Eventually, Sirius shakes his head.

"No, of course not," Sirius says before Mrs. Weasley comes bustling into the room.

"It's getting late, you all. Off to bed," she says, eyeing all of the teens. "Go on," she says when nobody moves. Hermione, Ginny, and Tori all share a look before being the first to rise from their seats. After giving a passing hug to her father, Tori follows Ginny and Hermione up the stairs, after calling for Hedwig to follow, and she does so obediently, perching on Tori's shoulder.

**-KYHS-**

**A/N: **So, I know that I said that Harry was going to come back in this chapter, but I was wrong. As usual. Anyway, I super-duper, 200% guarantee that Harry _**WILL**_ be showing up in the next chapter. I hope you all liked this chapter!

**New outfits on Polyvore! Link on my profile!**

**Questions?  
Comments?**

**Suggestions?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**Review Replies:**

**RHatch89****: **Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**grapejuice101****:** I'll definitely be adding in more of those moments. Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lucy Greenhill****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**potterhead8989****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**usuihentai727****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**-KYHS-**

_In the morning light let my roots take flight  
Watch me fall above like a vicious dove  
They don't see me come, who can blame them?  
They never seem to catch my eye but I never wondered why_

_I won't fall asleep_  
_I won't fall asleep_

_Hey yeah, don't let 'em know we're coming_  
_Hey yeah, tiptoe higher_  
_Take some time to simmer down, keep your head down low_  
_Hey yeah, tiptoe higher_

_**Tiptoe – Imagine Dragons**_

**-KYHS-**

The day for Harry to arrive at Grimmauld Place finally comes four days after the Dementor attack, and Hermione, Tori, and Ron couldn't be more excited for the fourth and final member in their close group of friends to finally show up. Anxiousness bubbles up in Ron and Hermione after Tori reminds them that Harry will likely be furious with everybody in the house because of the lack of information he received all summer. Sure, Tori sent him information, but what she could send him was all very vague and limited.

"How angry do you think he'll be?" Hermione asks, frowning deeply. Tori lifts an eyebrow at her before looking at Ron.

"How angry would you be?" Ron asks quietly while lying back on his bed. He, Tori, and Hermione had all retreated to the room Ron had been sharing with Gabe after a group of Order members had gone to collect Harry. Another bed had been added to the room for Harry since he would be sharing the room as well. Tori follows Ron's example and lies back on Gabe's bed before covering her face with a pillow in anticipation for Harry's arrival. She jumps when she feels a hard peck on the back of her hand, and she quickly removes the pillow from her face, and looks into the large amber eyes of Harry's owl, Hedwig.

"You know, I'm getting awfully tired of that," Tori says, glaring at the owl, and Hedwig merely stares back at her defiantly.

"Better you than me," Ron says, rubbing the back of his hand while glaring mutinously at the beautiful bird.

"Epitome of a gentleman, you are," Tori says, making Hermione grin. The three friends her footsteps echoing down the hallway, and they each jump to their feet eagerly, eyeing the door. All three teens take a collective breath when the door opens, but they visibly deflate when Gabe enters the room. He eyes their disappointed faces, and gives them an odd look before grabbing something out of his trunk, and exiting the room, but not without giving them one last weird look. They all sink back down on the beds when Gabe shuts the door behind him. They all continue to sit around in anxious silence until the door suddenly opens again, and all three occupants in the room jump to their feet again. Tori and Ron smile slightly when Harry walks slowly into the room, while Hermione races over to him and throws her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly.

"Harry! Oh Ron, Tori, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless - but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us - the Dementors! When we heard - and that Ministry hearing - it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations-," Hermione rambles, and Ron and Tori exchange an amused glance.

"Let him breathe, Hermione," Ron says, grinning at her and Harry.

"I think Hermione should be the one to take a breath," Tori mutters, and Hermione throws her a sharp look, but she's unable to keep the smile off of her face. Tori's grin widens slightly when Hedwig swoops down and lands on Harry's shoulder.

"She's been in a right state. Pecked us half to death when she brought your last letters, look at this," Ron says, gesturing to the cuts on his hand.

"Personally, I think she was enjoying herself," Tori says, rubbing the back of her hand with a sour look on her face.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, but I wanted answers, you know, and the ones I got from Tori were-," Harry starts, but stops when he sees Tori shaking her head frantically with wide eyes.

"What?" Hermione asks sharply, turning to look at Tori who quickly gives her an innocent look.

"Tattle tale," Tori mumbles to Harry, who has the decency to looks slightly apologetic.

"Victoria you promised you wouldn't say anything!" Hermione scolds.

"Actually, I never actually said anything," Tori points out happily, but her grin falters under Hermione's firm stare.

"At least she tried to give me news and explain what's going on," Harry says angrily. "Even if it was hard to understand most of the time," he says, his angry expression morphing into a confused frown as he turns his gaze onto Tori, who shrugs sheepishly.

"I tried to write it in code," she says, simply.

"We wanted to tell you, mate. Really, we did. Only Dumbledore made us-," Ron starts but is cut off by Harry.

"-swear not to tell me. Hermione already said," Harry says, shortly, and Ron falls silent.

"He seemed to think it was for the best. Dumbledore, I mean," Hermione says, nervously, fiddling with her hands.

"Right," Harry says, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I guess… I don't know. I guess he thought you were safest with your relatives-," Tori starts.

"Yeah?" Harry asks, rudely cutting her off. Tori narrows her eyes at him, understanding his anger, but not appreciating the attitude he's taking with Hermione, Ron, and herself. "Have any of you been attacked by Dementors this summer?"

"Well, no… But that's why he's had people from the Order of the Phoenix tailing you all this time," Ron says.

"Didn't work that well, though, did it? Had to look after myself after all, didn't I?" Harry asks, lifting his eyebrows.

"He was so angry. Dumbledore. We saw him. When he found out Mundungus had left before his shift had ended. He was scary," Hermione says, quietly, and Ron nods beside her while Tori simply watches Harry.

"Well, I'm glad he left. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have done magic and Dumbledore would probably have left me at Privet Drive all summer," Harry says, the anger seeping back into his voice.

"Aren't you . . . aren't you worried about the Ministry of Magic hearing?" Hermione asks.

"No," Harry says, and Tori shakes her head at his obvious lie. She looks over sharply when she hears a quiet snicker from one of the portraits in the room. She sees Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait empty but she knows that he was just there, and she glares at the empty frame. "So why's Dumbledore been so keen to keep me in the dark? Did you… Er… Bother to ask him at all?" "We told Dumbledore we wanted to tell you what was going on," Ron says, and Tori and Hermione nod in agreement. "We did, mate. But he's really busy now, we've only seen him twice since we came here and he didn't have much time, he just made us swear not to tell you important stuff when we wrote, he said the owls might be intercepted."

"He could still've kept me informed if he'd wanted to. You're not telling me he doesn't know ways to send messages without owls," Harry says, looking at them incredulously.

"Harry, we know. We thought of that, too. But he was really adamant about not wanting you to know anything," Tori says, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

"Maybe he thinks I can't be trusted," Harry suggests.

"Don't be thick," Ron says, frowning.

"Or that I can't take care of myself," Harry continues as if Ron hadn't said anything.

"Of course he doesn't think that," Hermione insists.

"So how come I have to stay at the Dursleys' while you all get to join in everything that's going on here? How come the three of you are allowed to know everything that's going on?" Harry asks, his composure slowly breaking with every word he speaks.

"We're not! Mum won't let us near the meetings, she says we're too young-," Ron starts.

"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU THREE'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT - 'WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED ALL YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?" Harry bellows, making Hermione, Ron, and Tori jump, not expecting him to shout so soon. Tori quickly thinks that it wasn't just Harry who fended off all of those Dementors, and she nearly points it out, but a quick look from Hermione tells her that this probably isn't the best time. "WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME! BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?"

"Harry, we wanted to tell you, really we did-," Hermione starts, and Tori can see that she has tears in her eyes.

"CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR-," Harry begins to shout again.

"Well he did-." "I sent you owls." Hermione and Tori say at the same time.

"FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON-," Harry continues. "I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER!"

"Don't be stupid!" Tori shouts back, not nearly as loud as Harry, but still loud enough to quiet him. "Look, I know you're angry… Furious, even, but don't take it out on us!" she continues, glaring at Harry. This seems to pacify him for a while, but he returns the glare furiously.

"Harry, we're really sorry!" Hermione cries, and Harry turns his glare onto her. "You're absolutely right, Harry. I'd be furious if it was me!"

"So," Harry begins after a long pause, "this place is a headquarters? I gathered that much from your letters," he says, looking at Tori who nods. "Headquarters for what?"

"For the Order of the Phoenix," Hermione pipes up quickly, not wanting Harry to explode on them again. "It's a secret society. Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time."

"Who's in it?" Harry asks, looking between the three of them.

"A lot of people. Some pleasant. Some unpleasant," Tori says, scrunching her nose up in distaste as she thinks of Snape.

"We've met about twenty of them, but we think there are more," Ron says, and they all eye Harry's glare for a few moments.

"Well?" he snaps after a few moments of silence.

"Well what?" Tori asks, scowling at him.

"Voldemort!" Harry nearly shouts. "What's happening? What's he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?"

"We've told you, the Order don't let us in on their meetings," Hermione says, and the look of anger grows fiercer on Harry's face.

"We don't know a vast amount of details, but dad tells me and Gabe some stuff, so we have a pretty general idea," Tori says.

"And let's not forget about the Extendable Ears, Fred and George invented. Bloody useful, they are," Ron says.

"Extendable-," Harry starts with a frown on his face.

"Ears, yeah. Only we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk. Fred and George had to hide them all to stop Mum binning them. But we got a good bit of use out of them before Mum realized what was going on. We know some of the Order are following known Death Eaters, keeping tabs on them, you know," Ron says.

"Some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order," Hermione adds.

"And some of them are standing guard over something. They're always talking about guard duty," Ron says, and Harry shakes his head.

"Couldn't have been me, could it?" he asks, sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah," Ron says, sheepishly and Tori lets out an amused snort while rolling her eyes.

"So what've you all been doing if you're not allowed in the meetings? You said you've been busy," Harry says, looking at them questioningly.

"Oh, yeah, we've been busy alright," Tori says, chuckling darkly. "We've been cleaning."

"Decontaminating is a more appropriate word," Hermione interjects. "This house has been empty for ages and stuff's been breeding in here. We've managed to clean out the kitchen, most of the bedrooms and I think we're doing the drawing room tomo-," Hermione starts but is cut off when the twins apparate into the room, making her let out a startled yell. "Stop doing that!" she shouts, and Tori laughs heartily along with the twins.

"Hello, Harry," George says when the laughter subsides. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out," Fred says, grinning at Harry. "There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."

"You two passed your Apparation tests, then?" Harry asks, moodily, and the grins on the twins' faces widen.

"With distinction," Fred says before pulling an extendable ear out of his pocket.

"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs," Ron grumbles.

"Time is Galleons," Fred says, while Tori mouths the words to Hermione at the same time, having heard this many times over the summer. "Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with reception. We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."

"You want to be careful, if Mum sees one of them again…," Ron trails off, and Tori nods.

"That was about a headache and a half," she says, and Ron nods in agreement.

"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having," Fred says as the door opens, and Gabe walks into the room with Ginny trailing behind him. Both grin and greet Harry happily before Ginny turns her attention to Fred and George.

"Its no-go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door," Ginny says, and Fred and George's faces fall simultaneously.

"How do you know?" George asks, and Ginny's gaze shifts to Tori.

"And how do you know?" Fred demands, looking at Tori who grins at him.

"Dora told me how to find out when the meetings first started, and I told Ginny when she asked" Tori says, shrugging, and eyeing the twins' scandalized faces.

"And you never told us?" Fred asks, placing a hand over his heart.

"You never asked," Tori responds, laying back on one of the beds.

"It's really simple to find out. You just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap," Ginny says.

"Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to," Fred says, after letting out a long sigh.

"Snape?!" Harry asks, eyes wide.

"That's almost the same reaction I had when I saw him here!" Tori points out, grinning. "You should hear dad having a go at him. Snivellus," she says, chuckling happily along with the twins, Ron, and Ginny.

"Really, Tori, it's not that funny," Hermione points out, frowning slightly.

"It's hilarious," Ron crows, taking a seat down on the bed next to Tori's lounging form. The next few minutes are filled with talk about Snape, Percy, and the Daily Prophet, each of the teens filling Harry in on information about each subject. After almost everything is talked about, they all hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs through the Extendable Ears, making Fred and George look at each other with wide eyes.

"Uh-oh," Fred mutters, before giving the Extendable Ear in his hand a harsh tug. He and George quickly apparate out of the room making Tori roll her eyes.

"Show offs," she mumbles, before sitting up when the door is pushed open.

"The meetings over, you can come down and have dinner now. Everyone's dying to see you, Harry. And who's left all those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?" Mrs. Weasley asks, standing in the doorway.

"Crookshanks," Ginny answers unflinchingly. "He loves playing with them."

"Oh, I thought it might have been Kreacher, he keeps doing odd things like that. Now don't forget to keep your voices down in the hall. Ginny, your hands are filthy, what have you been doing? Go and wash them before dinner, please," Mrs. Weasley says before turning on her heel and walking away, with Ginny trailing behind her. Gabe gets up shortly after and makes to exit the room.

"Coming?" he asks, looking at Tori, who nods.

"Give us a minute," she says, and Gabe nods while leaving the room, and going down the stairs. Once everybody's gone, Tori, Ron, and Hermione all eye Harry nervously.

"We knew you'd be angry, Harry, we really don't blame you, but you've got to understand, we did try to persuade Dumbledore-," Hermione tries.

"Yeah, I know," Harry cuts her off, and Hermione's mouth snaps shut. "Who's Kreacher?"

"Family house-elf," Tori answers with a wide grin, her eyes dancing with amusement.

"Nutter. Never met one like him," Ron says, shaking his head. "This one thinks he's funny," he continues, gesturing to Tori with his thumb.

"He's not a nutter, Ron," Hermione says, frowning at Ron, making Tori and Ron both roll their eyes.

"His life's ambition is to have his head cut off and stuck up on plaque just like his mother,' said Ron irritably. Is that normal, Hermione?" Ron asks, lifting an eyebrow at the girl.

"Well… Well, if he's a bit strange, it's not his fault," Hermione says, and Tori clears her throat loudly when Ron opens his mouth to respond.

"Let's go downstairs. I feel like my stomach's trying to eat itself because it's so empty," Tori says, dramatically, making her three friends roll their eyes. "Stay quiet on the stairs," Tori whispers to Harry, and shushes him when he opens his mouth to ask why. "I'll tell you in a little bit."

"We're eating down in the kitchen," Mrs. Weasley whispers to them from the bottom of the stairs. Harry, dear, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall it's through this door here-," she starts, but is cut off by a loud crash, caused by Tonks who'd just tripped over the tacky umbrella stand. "Tonks!"

"I'm sorry!" Tonks cries. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over…," she continues but is drowned out by a deafening high-pitched scream.

"That's why," Tori mutters to Harry, who has to strain his ears to hear her. The screaming is coming from a rather large portrait of Tori and Gabe's grandmother, Walburga Black. The portrait is covered by a large, black curtain, which flies open when the woman in the portrait is woken up.

Tori remembers the first time she saw and heard her father's mother, which by coincidence, was caused by Tonks tripping over the umbrella stand. The old woman in the portrait screamed curse words at the top of her lungs upon seeing everybody in the house. Her screaming grew louder when she caught sight of Sirius, and then abruptly cut off upon seeing Tori and Gabe. She remained silent for a few moments before her screaming resumed, growing louder, her eyes practically bugging out of her head. Gabe watched horrified, while Tori looked on curiously. This time around was no different, the woman's shrill screaming giving Tori a headache.

"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers!" the woman screeches.

"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" Sirius roars, walking out of a room and immediately going to the portrait.

"Yoooou! Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!" she howls, rage playing across her face as she looks at Sirius.

"I said shut up!" Sirius shouts, before finally getting the curtain shut with the help of Remus. "Hello, Harry," Sirius says, when he turns around. "I see you've met my mother."

Harry's eyes widen slightly when he hears this, and he looks at Tori, who nods glumly.

"Your-?" Harry starts.

"My dear old mum, yeah. We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent. Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again," Sirius says, beginning to walk to the kitchen, gesturing for the group of teens to follow him.

"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asks, and Tori exchanges a sheepish look with Hermione and Ron.

"Hasn't anyone told you?" Sirius asks, looking at Tori, Ron, and Hermione.

"It, er… Didn't exactly come up while we were talking upstairs…," she trails off, shrugging slightly.

"Well, this is my parents' house. But, the twins and I are the last Blacks left, so it belongs to me now. Offered it to Dumbledore for Headquarters… about the only useful thing I've been able to do," Sirius says, with a bitter tone in his voice. When they reach the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley, and a few others are laying food, plates, goblets, and silverware out on the table. The adults in the room who hadn't had the chance to see Harry, greet him warmly before everybody takes a seat. Tori sits in her usual spot, close to her father, and across from her brother, but this time, Harry takes the seat next to Tori instead of Hermione. The room is filled with casual conversation as everybody eats, and Tori notices that the only one who isn't really saying anything is Harry, who is eating quietly while observing everybody with a semi-content expression on his face.

"So… Could you, er… Not mention that I sent you letters with information in them? Especially to Uncle Remus," Tori whispers to Harry, who nods with a small smile.

"No problem. Thanks for that, by the way. Well… For at least trying," Harry says, and Tori merely waves it off.

"It was nothing," she says, the pair of them oblivious to the looks that Sirius, Remus, Gabe, and Hermione send them. After everybody finishes eating, Mrs. Weasley clears the table using magic, and soon, Mr. Weasley brings up Harry's trial, which catches everybody's attention.

"It's really very peculiar. It seems that your hearing at the ministry is to be before the entire Wizengamot," he says, looking at Harry with interest.

"I don't understand. What has the Ministry of Magic got against me?" Harry asks, utterly confused about the entire situation.

"Show him. He'll find out soon enough," Moody grunts from beside Sirius, and almost immediately, an issue of the Daily Prophet is tossed in front of Harry.

"He's been attacking Dumbledore, as well. Fudge is using all of his powers, including his influence at the Daily Prophet, to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned," Sirius explains as Harry eyes an article about him, not so cleverly named 'The-Boy-Who-Lies?'

"Why?" Harry asks, looking around Tori at Sirius.

"The Minister thinks Dumbledore is after his job," Remus explains.

"But that's insane! No one in their right mind would believe that Dumbledore-," Harry starts.

"Exactly the point – Fudge isn't in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped by fear. Now fear makes people do terrible things, Harry," Remus cuts Harry off. ""Now, the last time Voldemort gained power he almost destroyed everything we hold most dear. Now he's returned, and I'm afraid the Minister will do almost anything to avoid facing the terrifying truth."

"We think Voldemort wants to build up his army again. Fourteen years ago he had huge numbers at his command– not just witches and wizards, but all manner of Dark creatures. He's been recruiting heavily, and we've been attempting to do the same, but gathering followers isn't the only thing he's interested in...," Sirius trails off when Moody clears his throat warningly. "We believe Voldemort maybe after something," he continues, and Tori exchanges a look with the other teens, except for Harry, each of them surprised that they haven't been told to leave the room.

"Sirius," Moody warns, but Sirius ignores him.

"Something he didn't have last time," Sirius continues, his eyes firmly locked on Harry.

"You mean… Like a weapon?" Harry asks, shaking his head slightly in confusion.

"No. That's enough. He's just a boy! You say much more and you might as well induct him into the Order straightaway," Molly interjects before Sirius has the chance to respond, taking the newspaper away from in front of Harry.

"Good! I want to join!" Harry exclaims. "If Voldemort's raising an army, then I want to fight."

"Good luck with that one," Tori mutters, exchanging a dark look with Gabe.

"No," Remus says, ignoring Tori's remark and Tori looks at Harry knowingly. "The Order is comprised only of overage wizards who aren't in school. There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you," he says, giving a significant look to Tori and Gabe, who scowl simultaneously.

"Well, now that that's clear to all of you," Mrs. Weasley begins, looking at the teens around the table, "I think it's time for bed," she finishes, and there's a collective groan around the room, much to the amusement of the adults. "Harry, you'll be sharing with Gabe and Ron. Off you all go," she says again, in a firmer tone, and one by one, each of the teens rise from their seats and reluctantly leave the kitchen, and make their way up the stairs to the bedrooms, settling down for the night.

**-KYHS-**

**A/N: **Now, I know I took most of the dialogue from the book and movie, and I hope that's alright! Hope you liked this chapter!

**New outfit on Polyvore! Go check it out! Link on my profile! **

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